Introduction to Sociology

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  Introduction to Work in the United States. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
  
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  Work in the United States. Authored by: OpenStax CNX. Located at: http://cnx.org/contents/02040312-72c8-441e-a685-20e9333f3e1d/Introduction_to_Sociology_2e. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/02040312-72c8-441e-a685-20e9333f3e1d@3.49
  
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  New York workers. Authored by: Nicolas J Leclercq. Provided by: Unsplash. Located at: https://unsplash.com/photos/WJg2bynUWOk. License: CC0: No Rights Reserved. License Terms: https://unsplash.com/license
  

Work in the United States

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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  Describe the current U.S. workforce and the trend of polarization
  
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  Describe the U.S. workforce as pertaining to women, racial minorities, and immigrants
  

Figure 1. Many people attend job fairs looking for their first job or for a better one. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Ramirez/flickr)

The American Dream has always been based on the availability of opportunity. There is a great deal of mythologizing about the energetic upstart who can climb to success based on hard work alone. Common wisdom states that if you study hard, develop good work habits, and excel in school, then you’ll have the opportunity to land a good job. And although the reality has always been more complex than the myth might lead us to believe, the worldwide recession that began in 2008 took its toll on the American Dream. During the recession, more than 8 million U.S. workers lost their jobs, and unemployment rates surpassed 10 percent. Today, while the recovery is still incomplete, many sectors of the economy are expanding, and unemployment rates have receded.